Mr. Lee Bock Guan was born on 29 July 1945 and passed away on 29 August 2015 at the age of 70. He served at the Singapore Buddhist Lodge for over 50 years and held the post of president for more than 40 years.

The news of his death was fully covered by the mass media including television, radio and newspapers. Our Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong also attended the wake to pay his respects. After cremation, it was reported that over a hundred grains of sarira were found in his ashes.

It was said that in early1989, Mr Lee was diagnosed with terminal cancer and the doctor predicted that he had only six months to live. He chose not to see a doctor, take any medicine, or receive any treatment. Instead he volunteered his services at the Singapore Buddhist Lodge without getting paid. He devoted his faith to chanting the scriptures diligently. Six months later, Mr Lee was still alive and his health condition improved day by day. Upon examination it showed that his cancer cells had disappeared.

In 2004, the Singapore Buddhist Lodge carried out a building extension project. A celebrity who resided at Pacific Manson across the road complained about the noise generated by the construction. As I was working at the National Environment Agency then, I carried out checks and found that the noise emitted from the site did not exceed the permissible limit. However, Mr Lee immediately instructed the contractor to commence work only after the celebrity had left his home for work daily. Later, the celebrity made another complaint alleging that the night chanting of scriptures at the Buddhist Lodge disturbed the serenity of the environment. Though the complaint was not reasonable, Mr Lee did not want to put me on the spot and immediately installed air-conditioning and soundproofing to the scriptures reciting chamber to minimise the noise of chanting. From the above, it showed that Mr Lee is really magnanimous and considerate.

I only realised that Mr Lee is a Tonganese and a veteran member of the Tung Ann District Guild after reading the minutes of council’s meeting in September. May you rest in peace, kindred Lee Bock Guan.